Writing 150 – Fall 2021
Dr. K
AWA - TOPOI and Response
Due on Blackboard / September 23, 2021
Keeping the WP2 prompt in mind, use the TOPOI method to develop a list of questions as you go
through the assigned readings and explore ideas for the prompt. The questions don’t have to be
phrased in the same way as the example questions. Those are provided as guides. Once you have
generated a list of questions, begin answering the ones you think will be helpful. You are
welcome to answer all the questions, but some might generate more helpful responses than
others depending on the readings and the prompt.
The TOPOI chart we used in class can be seen below. You are free use the chart or erase it and
write down the questions in any form you like.
You are welcome to complete the entire document, however, for the purposes of the AWA
Assignment, you will need to complete the following:
1.
2.
A substantial list of questions related to the prompt. Provide questions for all the
categories listed below.
Your thoughtful response to 2 of the questions.
● Your response should be at least one in depth paragraph, but feel free to
write more. The responses should be more than superficial.
DEFINITION:
How is the term globalization defined?
What does it mean when a country is in a
trade deficit?
Have the advantages and disadvantages of a
trade deficit changed over time?
What parts can globalization be divided into?
What are similar terms/concepts to x?
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST:
How is globalization related to trade deficit?
How are different countries responding to
globalization?
What are the differences in benefits and
drawbacks for developing countries and
developed countries?
Why are the drug prices different in different Although it may be true that Sovaldi’s 3countries?
month treatment plan costs $84,000 whilst
an Indian alternative costs $900, Dean Baker
has conveniently left out information for the
reader to make a convincing argument.
Dean Baker falls victim to the confirmation
bias as he selectively chooses to present
information that support his argument,
blatantly hiding from his readers that there
is a $64,000 cost to Sovaldi just to provide
this treatment. Now the ostensible 40,000%
tariff turns into a 23.8% markup: a profit
margin that is pretty much standard forprofit incentivized firms. The markups in
profit are inevitable given that the private
sector dominates this industry because the
public sector would be inherently inefficient
and there would be very little progress
made in the field through research. Dean
Baker also conceals the fact that the Indian
prescriptive treatment is not chemically
identical to Sovaldi at all; in fact, the reason
Sovaldi is priced much higher is because it
represents a breakthrough in hepatitis C
drugs that could not be replicated by other
companies.
ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES:
What are the means of globalization and to
what end?
What are the consequences of allowing
doctors and other high paying professions to
practice in the US?
It is indeed true that doctors and lawyers that
received their respective licenses abroad are
not legally allowed to practice in the US, but I
do not necessarily agree with the notion that
that easing these limitations will have its
intended consequences. Firstly, each
country’s educational structure is vastly
different to the US, creating differences in the
knowledge each individual in the same field
has this is especially true for law since
different laws exist in different countries.
Because the educational systems are so
fundamentally different there is an inherent
mismatch between what the US values and
the qualifications of the foreign individuals
themselves. Even if this barrier to entry was
bypassed, the consequences would be
immense for US medical students. Prospective
students of law or medicine would instantly
turn to education abroad given that education
is much cheaper there, and thus the US
education system would suffer a severe hit in
revenue, further worsening its trade deficit.
Furthermore, as migration paves the way for
an increase level of supply for doctors and
lawyers, the wages for these professions
would fall significantly; as wages fall, it
supports the notion that everyone would flock
abroad as there no longer is an incentive to
spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on
graduate level education in the US given that
they may still have the ability to practice in
the US without having an American
educational background.
What are the consequences of a trade deficit?
What comes before and after globalization?
REASONS FOR AND AGAINST:
What are the reasons someone might be in
favor of globalization?
What are the reasons against globalization?
In what ways might someone have mixed
opinions about globalization?
Do the benefits of globalization outweigh its
disadvantages?
POSSIBILITY:
What is possible by limiting US’ globalization?
What makes globalization possible?
What factors contribute to the likelihood of
policy revamping occurring?
What could prevent the likelihood of allowing
certain professions to practice in the US
occurring?
Germany.
VALUES:
What are the ethical/moral values that affect
opinions of globalization?
What are the practical implications of
globalization and how do those influence how
the problem is valued?
How do the values of a particular society
shape the consideration of x?
How do political systems/beliefs influence
globalization?
How to spiritual/metaphysical values
influence x?